Monthly Archives: February 2008

Carnival of Feminists

Carnival of Feminist No 53

February 18, 2008 – 2:13 am

Apologies for the late notice, but in my own defence I was off at the Green Party conference getting through four motions, including two on gender issues, but I can now tell you … play trumpet and fanfare … that the Carnival of Feminists No 53 is now up on Uncool.

And a fine collection from the feminist blogosphere it is too, with an unusual but effective method of organisation. I was particularly taken by the “true love [doesn’t] wait” post, but do go over there and find your own favourite! (And enjoy the starting graphic.)

(After you’ve done that, if you’re having a very quiet day, you might like to check out the Britblog Roundup, featuring one of those web storms in a tea-cup that show lack of perspective is hardly only a MSM trait.)

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Environmental politics

Temporary relocation

February 15, 2008 – 12:03 am

For the length of the Green Party conference, ie until Sunday lunchtime, you’ll find me over on Green Despatches, the joint conference blog.

First up I’ve posted the material that I presented today on severely disadvantaged children – particularly those in detention, in care, and those seeking asylum in the UK.

If the whole thing looks a bit dense on facts and figures do skim to the end – there’s a wonderful example of how the government, corporately, really doesn’t get the fact that asylum-seeking children are first and foremost, children.

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Miscellaneous

Note to the drug dealer

February 12, 2008 – 10:00 pm

… in a certain W1 dead-end mews on Sunday night.

It really isn’t a good idea to be exchanging several small foil-wrapped packages for a roll of 20s in full view.

‘Cause if you do, the Green Party leafletter who comes around the blind corner and nearly falls over the two of you will have to engage in an elaborate display of semaphoring body language to indicate – YES, I AM VERY CONCERNED WITH DOORS AND I’M REALLY NOT SEEING ANYTHING ELSE GOING ON AROUND ME.

I don’t play charades often enough to need the practice…

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Environmental politics

Not quite the paperless office

February 10, 2008 – 3:47 pm

… but it seems per capita paper consumption is going down in the developed world.

We might not have quite achieved the paperless office, but it is getting closer…

And there is good news about increasing drinking of tap water in restaurants hidden in this story, but I’m not exactly astonished, but slightly bemused, that apparently one in five people are “too scared or nervous” to ask for it.

Lesson one: you are the customer. Ask for what you want!

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Feminism

Sharia and the out-of-this-world archbishop

February 10, 2008 – 3:43 pm

I was doing a favour and flicking around the feminist blogosphere and found there seems to be surprisingly little on the Archbishop of Canterbury and his suggestion that the UK introduce aspects of sharia law. I suspect that may be because the whole thing is so obviously horrifying that it is hard to say anything about it.

No, I’m not falling for the “he means stoning and the chopping off of hands” of the tabloids; Rowan Williams is talking about family law, but just how you could consider introducing a law that allows men to divorce just with a few words, but makes it exceedingly hard for women, that simply shows women far less respect?

One of the lines being run by the “I’m being terribly reasonable” commentators is that a similar system with the Jewish community, known as Beth Din, works fine – except of course it doesn’t, forcing Jewish women who wish to remain within their faith community into horrendous situation, making many of them what are known as “chained women”, and forcing the secular law into complicate wriggles in an attempt to extract them.

Religious laws are misogynous. They were designed to keep women repressed under patriarchy. They do not belong in the 21st century.

Simple, and obvious, but I fear that it must be said – and said loudly and often.

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Environmental politics Feminism

Nice lines and more at the Green Economics conference

February 10, 2008 – 3:04 pm

From Colin Tudge, whose address I unfortunately largely missed at yesterday’s Green Economics Conference (love to know what happened to the 8.56 from Paddington to Oxford…), a couple of nice thoughts/facts:

There are more people in jail in America than working on the land.
The reality is ecology, the market is mere fantasy. (As a suggested response who say “we can’t do this because of the market.”)

I also learnt about a fascinating scheme in Alaska, the Alaska Permanent Fund, which takes about an eighth of the state’s oil revenues and invests them for the benefit of all, with residents being paid a dividend each year that makes a small basic income for all.

And that basic income is an idea taking off in parts of the developing world, including South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique.

There was a lot more excellent stuff, including an interesting outline of the state of trafficking law – about enter big changes now that the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against the Trafficking has come into force (which it did on Feb1, with sufficient countries ratifying it), and the UK government has promised to ratify it by the end of the year.

I was also introduced to the Women’s Budget Group, which to quote from its website: “brings together feminist economists, researchers, policy experts and activists to work towards our vision of a gender equal society in which women’s financial independence gives them greater autonomy at work, home, and in civil society”. Definitely needs doing!

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